A former Black Panther will discuss 1960s and 70s activism at a prestigious public lecture in October — part of a programme of events marking Black History Month at The University of Nottingham.

JoNina Abron Ervin will discuss her book Driven by the Movement, which is based on interviews with black power activists, in a public lecture on University Park on Thursday 10 October.

Click here for full story

The event is part of a month long series of events celebrating black culture, people and history at the University. This includes:

The Black History Month film festival. Screenings of The Help (Tuesday 8 October) and Freedom Song (Wednesday 9 October) followed by talks by Professor Sharon Monteith and Professor Zoe Trodd.

Public lecture by David Blight, Professor of American History at Yale University, entitled American oracle? Remembering the civil war in the civil rights era, on Wednesday 16 October.

Public lecture by Professor Cecile Wright, honorary lecturer in the School of Sociology and Social Policy, entitled Black youth, neo-liberalism, possibilities and limitations of individual agency and resistance, on Wednesday 30 October.

Dr Claire Taylor, Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University, said: “JoNina Abron Ervin is one of the most interesting women to have emerged from the Black Power movement in the US. Her reflections on it provide a unique way for students to understand it historically and politically. We are grateful to her for including Nottingham in her tour dates, coinciding with Black History Month.”

The University is hosting a Black History Month blog, which will detail events taking place across its campuses and beyond. It will also feature profiles from members of The University of Nottingham BME (black and minority ethnic) Network. They will answer questions on their life, work, and how they feel about Black History Month.

Notes to editors: The University of Nottinghamhas 42,000 students at award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It was ‘one of the first to embrace a truly international approach to higher education’, according to the Sunday Times University Guide 2013. It is also one of the most popular universities among graduate employers, one of the world’s greenest universities, and winner of the Times Higher Education Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Sustainable Development’. It is ranked in the UK’s Top 10 and the World’s Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong and the QS World Rankings.

More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise. The University aims to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health. The University won a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for its research into global food security.